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Author:
Nasir Iqbal|Assistant Professor of English Literature
Updated on:October 11, 2025 Estimated Reading Time:20 min
The Pickwick Papers MCQs
1. Which of the following is the first novel written by Charles Dickens, published in 1836–1837?
A. Oliver Twist
B. David Copperfield
C. Great Expectations
D. The Pickwick Papers
D. The Pickwick Papers.
Published serially from 1836 to 1837, this novel was Dickens’s first full-length work. It established his popularity and signature blend of comedy and social satire.
2. The earliest history of the immortal Pickwick’s public career is derived from the perusal of an entry in the Transactions of which group?
A. The Royal Society
B. The Pickwick Club
C. The Scientific Union
D. The Literary Guild
B. The Pickwick Club.
The novel is presented as the posthumous papers of the club’s founder, Samuel Pickwick. It details the humorous “research expeditions” of him and his three companion members.
3. What scientific theory did Mr. Pickwick agitate the world with?
A. The Theory of Relativity
B. The Theory of Light
C. The Theory of Tittlebats
D. The Theory of Optics
C. The Theory of Tittlebats.
Mr. Pickwick gained initial celebrity by publishing an inquiry into the existence of the “common Pickwickian Tittlebat,” a humorous detail establishing his status as a pseudo-scientist.
4. Who is described as the “too susceptible” member of the Pickwick Club, whose ruling passion is the admiration of the fair sex?
A. Mr. Pickwick
B. Mr. Snodgrass
C. Mr. Tracy Tupman
D. Mr. Winkle
C. Mr. Tracy Tupman.
Mr. Tupman perpetually seeks romantic adventures despite his age and figure. This sentimental weakness often makes him an easy target for trickery and the butt of frequent comic misfortune.
5. Who is the “poetic” member of the Pickwick Club?
A. Mr. Tracy Tupman
B. Mr. Snodgrass
C. Mr. Winkle
D. Mr. Pickwick
Augustus Snodgrass is designated the group’s poet. He is always keenly observing events, ready to comment or write verses about his deep, sensitive impressions and surroundings.
6. Who is the “sporting” member of the Pickwick Club?
A. Mr. Winkle
B. Mr. Tupman
C. Mr. Snodgrass
D. Mr. Pickwick
A. Mr. Winkle.
Nathaniel Winkle claims to be an expert sportsman, yet he is comically inept at every athletic activity he attempts, including shooting, riding, and dueling, providing constant humour.
7. What kind of garment, when worn by Mr. Pickwick, is said to have “inspired involuntary awe and respect”?
A. Tights and gaiters
B. Black silk waistcoat
C. Mysterious blue cloak
D. New green shooting-coat
A. Tights and gaiters.
This attire, along with his spectacles, defines Mr. Pickwick’s characteristic look. It contributes to his eccentric but ultimately respectable and authoritative presence among the public.
8. What specific ancient object did Mr. Pickwick ‘discover’ that caused the club to vote him a pair of gold spectacles?
A. A Roman coin
B. A stone with a partially legible inscription
C. A Greek amphora
D. A parchment map
B. A stone with a partially legible inscription.
The inscription was later deciphered as merely “BILLE STUMPS HIS MARK,” satirizing the over-eagerness of antiquarian societies and Pickwick’s initial blunder.
9. Who was the Pickwickian that called Mr. Pickwick a “humbug” during the debate?
A. Mr. Snodgrass
B. Mr. Winkle
C. Mr. Tupman
D. Mr. Blotton (of Aldgate)
D. Mr. Blotton (of Aldgate).
Mr. Blotton publicly challenged Mr. Pickwick’s integrity regarding his antiquarian discovery, forcing Pickwick to successfully defend his honor and authority as the Club’s President.
10. What did the Pickwick Club vote to give Mr. Pickwick in token of their confidence and approbation after the Blotton affair?
A. A gold watch
B. A silver inkstand
C. A pair of gold spectacles
D. A bronze bust
C. A pair of gold spectacles.
The spectacles symbolized the club’s renewed and firm faith in Mr. Pickwick’s “clear-sightedness” and sagacity following the humiliating public dispute with Mr. Blotton.
11. Why did the cabman believe Mr. Pickwick was an informer?
A. Pickwick tried to run away.
B. Pickwick was recording notes in a book.
C. Pickwick was wearing a blue cloak.
D. Pickwick refused to pay the fare.
B. Pickwick was recording notes in a book.
The cabman mistakenly assumed Pickwick’s diligent note-taking on the environment was actually a record of the driver’s illegal activities or licensing violations, leading to the street fight.
12. Who intervened to terminate the affray between the Pickwickians and the mob near the cab?
A. A policeman
B. A tall, thin, young man in a green coat
C. The cabman’s master
D. Mr. Snodgrass
B. A tall, thin, young man in a green coat.
This dramatic entrance introduces the pivotal character, the cunning trickster Mr. Alfred Jingle, whose rapid speech briefly disperses the hostile mob. He later embroils the Pickwickians in his schemes.
13. What was the name of the tall, thin, young man in the green coat who emerged from the coach-yard?
A. Mr. Tupman
B. Mr. Winkle
C. Mr. Jingle
D. Mr. Snodgrass
C. Mr. Jingle.
Alfred Jingle is a central figure in the early plot. He is recognizable by his eccentric, broken-English manner of speaking. He quickly embroils the innocent Pickwickians in his various fraudulent and misleading schemes.
14. What event was taking place upstairs at the inn where the Pickwickians were staying near Rochester bridge?
A. A dinner for charity
B. A ball for a charity
C. A political assembly
D. A card tournament
B. A ball for a charity.
The Rochester ball is the setting for the next major comic incident. Mr. Winkle’s coat is mistaken for a rival’s, leading directly to the humiliating duel challenge.
15. What letters were inscribed on the gilt button of the bright blue dress-coat that Mr. Winkle was wearing (or that was being brushed)?
A. T. T.
B. P. P.
C. P. C.
D. W. W.
C. P. C.
The letters stand for Pickwick Club. This distinctive club livery is tragically mistaken for a military coat, directly causing Mr. Winkle’s confrontation with Dr. Slammer.
16. Why did Mr. Winkle accept the challenge to a duel?
A. He felt bound to maintain the honour of his coat/uniform.
B. He was an expert sportsman eager for a fight.
C. He was intoxicated and confused.
D. He wanted to impress the ladies.
A. He felt bound to maintain the honour of his coat/uniform.
Despite his paralyzing fear, Winkle felt compelled by the societal code of gentlemanly honour. He feared the shame of refusal more than the potential outcome of the duel itself.
17. What surprising action did Mr. Winkle take just as he approached the fatal spot in the duel?
A. He shouted at Doctor Slammer.
B. He threw down his pistol.
C. He shut his eyes.
D. He ran away.
C. He shut his eyes.
This highly comic action reveals Winkle’s genuine lack of courage, cementing the running joke that he is utterly unable to fulfill his role as the Club’s brave sportsman.
18. What happened immediately after the firing ceased at the military review?
A. The regiments packed up and left.
B. The half-dozen regiments charged with fixed bayonets.
C. The commander-in-chief congratulated the men.
D. Mr. Pickwick fainted.
B. The half-dozen regiments charged with fixed bayonets.
The sudden charge caused widespread panic among the crowd, leading directly to the accidental physical assault on Mr. Pickwick and his undignified somersault into a state of bewilderment.
19. What position were the soles of Mr. Pickwick’s boots elevated to after the military charge?
A. Resting on a bench
B. Elevated in air
C. Hidden in the mud
D. Running away quickly
B. Elevated in air.
This highly visual description of Pickwick being knocked heels-over-head is an iconic piece of slapstick comedy, perfectly illustrating the chaos that frequently befalls the innocent protagonist.
20. Who was the fat and red-faced boy sitting on the box of the barouche?
A. Joe, the dispenser of the hamper contents
B. Mr. Wardle’s son
C. The post-boy
D. A relative of Mr. Tupman
A. Joe, the dispenser of the hamper contents.
Joe, the fat boy, is a famous comic figure whose existence humorously centers on perpetually sleeping and eating immense amounts of food, providing constant physical comedy.
21. Who was supposed to ride a horse, which he struggled to mount, when the party left the inn for Manor Farm?
A. Mr. Tupman
B. Mr. Snodgrass
C. Mr. Pickwick
D. Mr. Nathaniel Winkle
D. Mr. Nathaniel Winkle.
Winkle, the purported sportsman, fails repeatedly to mount his horse, cementing the running joke that he is utterly devoid of genuine athletic skill despite his pretensions.
22. When Mr. Winkle was having trouble mounting the horse, what did the post-boy whisper to the waiter?
A. The horse was too tall.
B. The gentleman was getting up on the wrong side.
C. The gentleman was afraid.
D. The saddle was loose.
B. The gentleman was getting up on the wrong side.
The post-boy’s quiet observation confirms Winkle’s total inexperience, hilariously exposing the gap between his social pretensions and his actual knowledge of horsemanship.
23. Who was left at home in charge of the females while Mr. Pickwick, Mr. Winkle, and Mr. Snodgrass went to the cricket match?
A. Mr. Wardle
B. Mr. Tupman
C. Mr. Trundle
D. The clergyman
B. Mr. Tupman.
Tupman, valuing romance over sport, chose to stay behind. He mistakenly believed he could advance his flirtatious agenda with the female members of the Wardle party in private.
24. The cricket match featured the Dingley Dell Club against which other town?
A. Eatanswill
B. Rochester
C. Muggleton
D. Dorking
C. Muggleton.
The match between the Dingley Dell and All-Muggleton teams is a famous set-piece. It vividly depicts the lively, festive, and slightly chaotic local sporting culture of the time.
25. Who did the Pickwickians meet in the tent at the cricket match, whom they had previously met on the Rochester coach?
A. Mr. Tupman
B. Mr. Jingle (the green-coated friend)
C. Mr. Wardle
D. Mr. Miller
B. Mr. Jingle (the green-coated friend).
Jingle’s opportunistic reappearance at the cricket match is significant. It proves he is actively following the Wardle family and preparing his fraudulent scheme involving Rachael Wardle.
26. Which member of the Wardle family did Mr. Jingle run away with from Manor Farm?
A. Miss Wardle
B. Mrs. Wardle (the mother)
C. Rachael, the spinster aunt
D. Emily Wardle
C. Rachael, the spinster aunt.
Jingle targets Miss Rachael because she is wealthy and emotionally vulnerable. He intends to secure her property, which reveals his purely mercenary and deceptive character.
27. What was the name of Mr. Wardle’s lawyer?
A. Dodson
B. Fogg
C. Perker
D. Snubbin
C. Perker.
Mr. Perker, a shrewd and generally honest London attorney, assists Mr. Pickwick and Mr. Wardle in tracking down Jingle to prevent the fraudulent elopement and subsequent marriage.
28. What amount did Jingle finally demand as compensation for his expenses, breach of honour, and loss of the lady?
A. Seventy pounds
B. Eighty pounds
C. One hundred and twelve pounds
D. One hundred and fifty pounds
C. One hundred and twelve pounds.
Jingle successfully extorts this specific, calculated amount from the Wardle family for relinquishing his claim on Rachael, demonstrating his skill as a complete con artist.
29. What action was Mrs. Bardell engaged in when she fainted in Mr. Pickwick’s arms, just before his friends entered?
A. She was attempting to serve him tea.
B. She was clinging to him.
C. She was dusting the room.
D. She was reading the resolutions.
B. She was clinging to him.
Mrs. Bardell, misunderstanding Pickwick’s innocent request about a servant as a marriage proposal, faints dramatically, creating the lawsuit’s central false evidence.
30. Who immediately followed Master Bardell into the room just as Mrs. Bardell fainted in Mr. Pickwick’s arms?
A. Mr. Jingle
B. Mr. Wardle and Mr. Trundle
C. Mr. Tupman, Mr. Winkle, and Mr. Snodgrass
D. Messrs. Dodson and Fogg
C. Mr. Tupman, Mr. Winkle, and Mr. Snodgrass.
Their unexpected and unfortunate entrance made them key involuntary “witnesses” to the seemingly compromising scene, fueling the later breach of promise action against Pickwick.
31. What was Sam Weller’s job before becoming Mr. Pickwick’s servant?
A. Boots
B. Vaginer’s boy
C. Coachman
D. Pieman
A. Boots.
Sam worked as a boots (a person who cleans shoes and runs errands) at the White Hart Inn, where Mr. Pickwick first encounters his exceptional wit and street smarts.
32. What type of establishment did Sam’s father get a marriage licence at, after being persuaded by a “touter”?
A. A church in Paul’s Churchyard
B. The Commons (Doctors’ Commons)
C. The Marquis of Granby
D. Gray’s Inn
B. The Commons (Doctors’ Commons).
Mr. Weller Senior’s account of being “touted” into marriage at Doctors’ Commons is a classic example of his cynical wisdom and provides a humorous social critique of the marriage business.
33. Where did Mr. Pickwick wake up after drinking cold punch and falling asleep during the shooting trip?
A. In the inn
B. In the pound
C. In a hay cart
D. Under a tree
B. In the pound.
Mistaken for a drunk vagrant while sleeping off the punch, Mr. Pickwick was placed in the village pound, an enclosure for stray animals, where he was subjected to mob indignity.
34. What items did the crowd throw at Mr. Pickwick when he was in the pound?
A. Mud and stones
B. Turnip, potato, and egg
C. Apples and hops
D. Snowballs
B. Turnip, potato, and egg.
The vegetable and egg assault is the hilarious culmination of the farce, highlighting the mob mentality and the indignity that the innocent Mr. Pickwick is forced to endure.
35. Who is the sanctimonious and hypocritical clergyman that Mr. Weller Senior is connected to?
A. Rev. Mr. Melchisedech
B. Rev. Dr. Slammer
C. Rev. Mr. Stiggins
D. Rev. Mr. Walker
C. Rev. Mr. Stiggins.
Mr. Stiggins, a drinker and hypocrite, is perpetually sucking on a pine-apple rum. He is the main object of Sam Weller’s father’s comical and bitter satire.
36. What were the two main political parties in the town of Eatanswill?
A. Whig and Tory
B. Blue and Buff
C. Conservative and Liberal
D. Democrat and Federalist
B. Blue and Buff.
The fictional Blue and Buff parties satirize the intense local rivalry, corruption, and farcical spectacles characteristic of early 19th-century British parliamentary elections.
37. Who were the two candidates running in the Eatanswill election?
A. Mr. Perker and Mr. Pott
B. Mr. Pickwick and Mr. Winkle
C. Mr. Horatio Fizkin and Honourable Samuel Slumkey
D. Mr. Snodgrass and Mr. Tupman
C. Mr. Horatio Fizkin and Honourable Samuel Slumkey.
Slumkey (Blue) and Fizkin (Buff) are the names of the two candidates whose exaggerated campaign tactics epitomize the ridiculous and corrupt nature of the election process.
38. Who was the editor of the Eatanswill Gazette?
A. Mr. Fizkin
B. Mr. Perker
C. Mr. Pott
D. Mr. Slumkey
C. Mr. Pott.
Mr. Pott is the bombastic editor of the Blue party’s paper. His absurd rhetoric reflects Dickens’s satire of the highly partisan and often outrageous political press of the era.
39. What scandalous act did the opposing party perform to prevent fourteen unpolled electors from voting the day before the election?
A. Bribed them with money
B. Locked them in a room
C. Hocussed their brandy-and-water
D. Stole their carriages
C. Hocussed their brandy-and-water.
To “hocus” the voters meant to drug their drinks, a typical example of the crude and often physical methods used to manipulate voting outcomes in the satirized elections.
40. What was the name of the unprincipled lawyer, or attorney, who took Sam Weller’s deposition?
A. Mr. Perker
B. Mr. Winkle
C. Mr. Lowten
D. Mr. Jackson
D. Mr. Jackson.
Mr. Jackson is a minor, yet notable, character from the firm of Dodson and Fogg, whose attempt to confuse Sam Weller is met with the servant’s characteristic sharp wit.
41. What type of action was the famous lawsuit of Bardell against Pickwick?
A. Libel
B. Breach of promise of marriage
C. Assault and battery
D. Criminal conspiracy
B. Breach of promise of marriage.
The lawsuit, engineered by Dodson and Fogg, forms the major plot conflict of the novel, driving Mr. Pickwick’s later imprisonment and moral stand against injustice.
42. What was the name of the pompous, self-important Queen’s Counsel who handled Mrs. Bardell’s case?
A. Mr. Serjeant Snubbin
B. Mr. Serjeant Buzfuz
C. Mr. Serjeant Bumple
D. Mr. Serjeant Flowery
B. Mr. Serjeant Buzfuz.
Serjeant Buzfuz is famous for his ludicrously bombastic and dramatic opening speech, which grossly misinterprets Pickwick’s innocent notes as passionate love letters.
43. What did Serjeant Buzfuz interpret Pickwick’s note about “chops and tomato sauce” to mean?
A. A secret meeting place
B. A declaration of undying love and passionate feasting
C. A plan to run away
D. A code for transferring property
B. A declaration of undying love and passionate feasting.
This farcical misinterpretation of an ordinary note about food demonstrates the absurd manipulation of evidence by the lawyers to secure the jury’s emotional bias.
44. What was the verdict in the case of Bardell v. Pickwick?
A. For the Defendant
B. For the Plaintiff, damages of 750 pounds
C. For the Plaintiff, damages of 50 pounds
D. For the Plaintiff, damages of 1000 pounds
B. For the Plaintiff, damages of 750 pounds.
The large damages amount of seven hundred and fifty pounds solidifies the injustice, as Pickwick resolutely refuses to pay this legally baseless claim, leading to his imprisonment.
45. What was the name of the prison where Mr. Pickwick was confined after refusing to pay the damages to Mrs. Bardell?
A. Newgate Prison
B. The Fleet Prison
C. Marshalsea Prison
D. Coldbath Fields Prison
B. The Fleet Prison.
The Fleet Prison is the setting for the novel’s most somber and socially critical chapters, showing the grim realities of debtor’s prison and the cruelty of the legal system.
46. Who did Mr. Pickwick unexpectedly find also imprisoned in the Fleet?
A. Mr. Wardle
B. Alfred Jingle and Job Trotter
C. Sam Weller’s father
D. Dodson and Fogg
B. Alfred Jingle and Job Trotter.
Finding Jingle in extreme poverty and illness forces Pickwick to confront a darker reality, leading to an act of compassion and moral redemption for the con-man.
47. What did Sam Weller do to join Mr. Pickwick in the Fleet Prison?
A. He was arrested for an assault charge.
B. He feigned an illness and got himself committed.
C. He arrested himself for a fictitious debt.
D. He became a prison warden.
C. He arrested himself for a fictitious debt.
Sam’s loyal act of self-imprisonment to serve his master in the Fleet highlights his deep devotion and reinforces his status as the novel’s most decent and practical character.
48. Why was Mrs. Bardell finally imprisoned in the Fleet?
A. She was arrested for fraud.
B. She refused to pay the costs of her own case to Dodson and Fogg.
C. She was caught stealing from Mr. Pickwick.
D. She failed to appear in court.
B. She refused to pay the costs of her own case to Dodson and Fogg.
Mrs. Bardell’s imprisonment reveals the ultimate cruelty of the system: her own lawyers, Dodson and Fogg, betray their client to extract fees, forcing Pickwick to act.
49. What final amount did Mr. Pickwick pay to secure both his own release and Mrs. Bardell’s release from the Fleet?
A. Dodson and Fogg’s legal costs
B. The original 750 pounds damages
C. The total sum of damages plus all costs
D. Only the debt owed by Sam Weller
A. Dodson and Fogg’s legal costs.
Pickwick pays the lawyers’ costs to release Mrs. Bardell, thus ending the entire debacle and defeating Dodson and Fogg by refusing to yield to their principle of legalized extortion.
50. What happened to the Pickwick Club at the very end of the novel?
A. It disbanded immediately.
B. It continued its explorations without Mr. Pickwick.
C. It was dissolved, and the members retired from public life.
D. It merged with the Royal Society.
C. It was dissolved, and the members retired from public life.
Mr. Pickwick dissolves the Club to fully devote himself to a quieter, domestic life with his friends nearby, marking a shift from farcical travel to mature companionship.
